


Just another Tale

by Assaultfox



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Angels, Demons, Fantasy AU, Gen, Magic, Spirits, i have no idea what i am doing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2018-12-18 05:24:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11867646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Assaultfox/pseuds/Assaultfox
Summary: In a world were magic is given to mortal mammals by spirits. It is custom that those who recieve a spirit shall be taught in the arts of magic. Judy coming from a poor family never though that she would have a chance to fullfill her dream until she found a demonic spirit in a cave in the woods near her hometown(beggars can't be choosers).14 years have passed since then and Judy has become an adventurer, acompany her and her demonic spirit Nick on their quest to make Judy a legendary adventurer.





	1. An Oasis in the Darkness

**Somewhere in great Kingdom of Zootopia**

**In a hidden Dungeon**

The darkness of the dungeon before her made Judy wonder whether listening Nick was a good idea after all. He might be a demon and he might be old, she was even convinced that he might have been a higher demon at some point but this secret passageway was definitely screaming danger.

“Are you planning on moving any time soon, Carrots?”, came the smug voice of her personal spirit from behind her back.

Yes, good question was she going to move?

Was this really worth it?

Would there really be a demonic weapon down there?

And if so, would she be able to control it?

Or would it consume her like the foolish mammals in the stories that the church of Altair preached about these ancient artifacts?

“Fluff, I know you are scared. But I know that my brother will see reason. If I vouch for you he will most certainly help us out.”, Nick's voice echoed through the room once more.

“But do I really need his help?”, Judy asked voicing her concern for the first time.

She turned around and faced her companion. Nick had chosen the appearance of a fox, she never really understood why since he claimed to be a high demon. Not the kind of high demon that comes into existence when a hero who used the dark arts dies or when a sorcerer who used demonic magic dies. No he claimed to be a real demon from birth, that kind of high demon that would be able to freely change it's appearance at will. That kind of demon that fought against the gods during the cataclysm.

And while she did not really buy that story she had to admit that he must have been one hell of a magic rouge when he was still a mortal given all his knowledge.

She could only hope that she would rise to be a good hero herself, one worthy of being recognized by the gods and then made into an angel upon her death.

That dream was fading by the minute though when she considered that her spirit was not only a high demon but she was also planning on taming a demonic weapon.

That did not really sound angelic to her at all.

Nick mustered her with his signature green glowing eyes that were the only thing that she could see thanks to the hood that covered his entire head. The two glowing balls underneath the hood that seemed to pierce into the very core of her soul made him look somewhat intimidating but she knew that she had nothing to fear from him, he was her spirit after all.

This was the only reason that she was considering this whole thing in the first place.

She trusted Nick!

He was the only one who truly understood her desire for adventure, the only one who would always support her.

They just stood there in silence before Nick answered cautiously,”well, it is not like you need anything Judy.”,her heart skipped a beat and her ears perked up. He had just used her name! He never used her name?! Why now?

Nick tilted his head a little and she knew that he had noticed her inner turmoil.”But if you want to grow stronger then you are going to need the right equipment and you are going to need someone who can teach you how to fight with magic. And the great thing is my brother could solve both of these problems.”

Judy's ears fell back down,”But I don't understand why can't you teach me magic like you always do? What is the difference?”

Nick gave a sigh,”There is a huge difference. One that is hard to explain but let's just say that no matter who picks up a demonic weapon, he or she is going to be powerful. But even when they put down the demonic weapon, if they get the chance to do so, they will be much stronger than they used to be. And that is just one of the reason why having a demonic weapon is really useful.”

“So you are saying that when I pick up this weapon then I will be strong and that's it?”, Judy asked somewhat disappointed. She knew that these weapons were powerful and that they could corrupt even the strongest of heroes but she had thought that she would still have to grow in order to get stronger. If what Nick said was true then this whole thing felt like cheating. And she was sure that the gods would not find these actions worthy of recognition.

“Well, not really no it will take time and effort on your part but it is most definitely far easier than learning the normal way.”

Now Judy was confused,”but you said that any mammal is stronger when they put down the weapon. What if I just pick it up and put it back down? That wouldn't take that much time and effort.”

Nick facepawed and gave a heavy sigh,”I was exaggerating Carrots. You still need to wield the weapon to get results.”

Suddenly there was a sound behind Judy, in the section of the dungeon that was still unexplored before them.

And they both knew immediately that they were not alone anymore.

Judy whipped around and focused her mana into her right paw in order to cast a light spell.

It only took her a few seconds and the corridor before her was illuminated in a ghostly blue light.

And the light revealed a group of weird stone soldiers. They were like moving statues of creatures that she had never seen before. They looked like felines but had antlers like deer would usually posses them. They also had long stone tails that were split into three parts at the end. There was a total of four enemies as far as Judy could tell and they were wielding stone swords and shields.

The filled the entire corridor and gave of an aura that told her that these creatures were definitely powerful golems.

She unsheathed her short sword and cast an enhancement spell on her blade while readying herself for the upcoming attack.

She heard Nick from behind her,”Fluff, I think we should avoid these guys and go right for the prize.”

Judy tried to keep her eyes on the enemies before her that seemed to be waiting for her to attack first. “But if we evade them then we have to fight them and whatever else we find down there on the way back!And that sounds even worse to me!”

She heard Nick sigh behind her,”but on our way back we would be in possession of a demonic weapon that would rip through these guys like they are nothing. And I sincerely doubt that you can beat high level magic like this right now.”

He had a point, so she cast quick step instead and went on the offensive.

The stone figures sprung into action as well and they readied themselves for the incoming attack.

But it never came just feigned an frontal attack and slid through underneath the legs of one of the statue warriors. This caused another one to strike at her while she was sliding and it was only thanks to Nick who saved her by casting an ice spell at her opponent that slowed him down and gave her the time she needed to get back onto her paws. And she ran, she was already a fast runner but with quickstep that speed was enhanced drastically. So she zapped through the corridors while Nick was guiding her through the maze that was this dungeon. There were many other statue soldiers down in the catacombs but they were slow and therefore easily outmaneuvered.

She realized though that she should never let them hit her since one of the statue soldiers hit a wall once while trying to hit her as she hopped over his shoulder. And his stone sword went through the solid stone wall like it was a high grade magic sword. Whoever had made these had definitely been a powerful master mage.

And then after evading about fifty statues she made it to room with a huge door.

It seemed really out of place since there had been no doors whatsoever in the whole dungeon before this one. The room was also filled with small floating balls of pure light that made it possible to see every corner of the room and every wall had had runes inscribed all over them, runes she had never seen before.

She just stood there an gawked, she could feel the pure mana in the air and knew that this place was filled to the brim with powerful magic.

Nick appeared next to her and smiled,”we made it.”

He had his hood removed and she could now clearly see his red fur glistening in the light that filled the room.

It felt really peaceful, this was like nothing she would ever dream of when exploring a dungeon.

Nick suddenly moved and made his way over to the door and for one moment Judy felt the sudden urge to stop him. Whatever lurked behind that door would be released when they opened it.

Was she really ready to face whatever this door had keep secret for so long?

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Doppelgänger

Judy watched as Nick placed one paw right in the middle of the huge door and there was a bristling sound as a barrier repelled his advances. But he just pushed against the barrier that could not be seen, but certainly felt, until it suddenly collapsed send of a gentle wave of magic energy in all directions as it did.  
Judy readied herself, she knew that this was it, the door would open and they would meet whatever was behind it.   
She knew that there was no going back at this point and she gripped the handle of her sword which was still resting in its sheath that much tighter because of this.  
She watched in awe as Nick slowly pushed the door open with relative ease using only one paw while the sound of metal scraping over stone could be heard erasing the calming silence that had filled the room before.  
Just when the door had opened enough for both of them to get through he let go while Judy came closer in order to pass through, but the door did not stop.  
It continued opening on it's own revealing complete darkness behind it.  
Judy paused, was this it? She thought as she stared into the darkness that lurked in the room like an impenetrable wall.   
Nick noticed her anxiety and turned his head towards her, giving her his signature smile while bowing slightly with his arm extended towards the room,”after you my lady.” He said turning his smile into a smirk while also bringing her back to her senses.   
She could not be scared now!   
Not here!   
Judy took a deep breath and stepped through the doorway into the room. Leaving behind the comfort of the floating lights and replacing it with darkness that happily embraced her, at least the room was filled with, as much, if not even more magic energy than the first one.  
She could hear Nick behind her as he entered the room, that was Nick, right? She could not tell since even Nick's glowing eyes were not visible in this unnaturally thick darkness. Which meant that it had be a magical one!  
Maybe this was a stupid idea after all she thought to herself, but just as she wanted to turn around she heard the sound of metal scraping over stone and she knew that the door was closing behind them.   
She also though about the fact that if she ran towards the door that her back would be exposed to whatever may be lingering in the darkness.   
The door finally closed behind them, making her indecisiveness irrelevant since there was no way out now anyways.   
And just a moment after the door had closed it happened, magic fires ignited in pairs of two. Always one on each side of the room slowly lighting the room from the front to the back. They were resting on top of huge pillars that formed rows on both sides of the room. With the darkness now being mostly vanquished by these magic fires Judy was able to see the room clearly.   
The room itself was fairly wide, wide enough to make the room seem large even to an elephant but that was not the most impressive thing, no! The room was also very deep for an underground structure, Judy was sure that it had to be about fifty meters from where she was standing to the other side of the room. It was huge!   
Which begged the question, why?   
What kind of guardian would need a room this big?  
A shiver ran down her spine and her eyes darted across the room in search for more details.   
The room consisted of giant stone slabs that made up the floor and the walls where decorated with larger than life statues of cloaked mammals in between the pillars. Every statue had a staff which lead to the conclusion that these were representing mages. Each staff had a giant gem at it's tip that seemed to glow from within with a rune in it. These gems were all big enough so that you would only need one in order to live the rest of your life like a king. But Judy knew that they were likely part of the barrier that was placed upon this room and that messing with a barrier that was put in place to banish a demonic weapon would likely warrant death.  
The room itself was awfully clean, not just clean like there was not dust or anything like that, but clean like no mammal had ever set its paws in here. Judy continued looking and her gaze suddenly locked onto the other end of the room, there was a throne there. Said throne was made out of the same kind of stone as the rest of the room and it was certainly large enough to accommodate a any large mammal just like the rest of the room was as well. It also had nine crystals encased in it that were akin to the ones the mage statues had, only these ones were a little bit smaller.  
And then she saw the sword, it was leaned against the center of the throne and it was probably big enough to be a two pawed sword that a buffalo or a bear would use, nothing a bunny could ever hope to lift at all and with it being so far away, it was hard to make out the details of the swords appearance.  
Just when she was about to turn and ask Nick how she was supposed to use a sword that was much larger and heavier than both of them something else happened.  
The crystals on the throne seemed to glow and the shadows near the throne seemed to move like a living being rather than a lifeless absence of light, these shadows formed threads that snaked their way onto the throne. Where they formed into a small ball like structure which had a constant moving surface.   
It looked really surreal.  
Judy wondered what this shadow ball was exactly, and she had a pretty good idea what it could be but she hoped that she was wrong. If this was the guardian of this place then this could be really dangerous.   
Nick had told her that beings like this one did exist, beings that had no real body or form. Beings that needed to be fought with magic or special artifacts since physical attacks would not harm them at all.  
She glanced over to Nick and saw that he seemed nervous as well.   
“So what do we do now?”. Judy asked in a half whisper, which was silly since they were clearly standing at the entrance of the room right in the open. There was no way that whatever these shadows were, had not seen or felt them.   
Nick stared at the throne while he answered casually,”we go up to the throne and introduce ourselves.”  
And after saying that he started walking towards the throne all even though she could tell that he was still nervous.  
Judy's eyes must have been at their maximum size at that particular moment. Not only had Nick just told her to get closer to the weird shadow thing without explaining what it was! But he had also just started doing just that without even waiting for her okay.  
But Judy knew that she had to follow, she knew that splitting up was even worse than getting closer since there was at least two of them if she followed Nick.  
As she approached she felt the intensity of magic energy in the air around her increase dramatically, so much so that her neckfur stood on end.  
But she pushed on even though she had a weird feeling of anxiety in her stomach. She was basically walking straight up to the dangerous unknown being that was in possession of a demonic weapon.  
She could now see the sword more clearly and it was truly a two pawed sword with a long ash gray blade that had red runes engraved on its fuller. It had a simplistic curved cross guard with pointy ends in a slightly darker color than the blade itself that resembled an ax head. The grip meanwhile seemed to be made up of dark brown colored leather from whatever poor creature might have died for this. The grip then ended in a pommel that was shaped like a rounded cone with riffles in it that looked like it could be used to split the skull of an enemy right open.  
It looked like a formidable blade even from afar.   
Judy was now only around five meters away from the throne when the shadowy ball moved and said movement startled Judy so much that she literally leaped backwards a bit.   
Great, she thought, now you made your first impression on whatever that thing is and it was you fleeing in fear. Good job Judy she could hear her own thoughts sarcastically mock her.  
She focused on the shadows now that had started reshaping the ball into another shape. First Judy had no idea what they were shaping but after a moment it hit her like a charging rhino.   
The shadows seemed to disappear and made way for what they had shaped beneath while still enveloping the shape beneath like a weird kind of fog or aura.   
Before Judy on the throne was sitting a mirrored version of herself that was casually sitting on the throne with leg one leg angled so that her mirror version could rest her arm on her knee .   
Only this other Judy was wearing a high quality dark leather armor with steel plates on it that looked really menacing and sturdy compared to Judy's cheap cloak and light chainmail armor.   
The only other difference between the two of them where the eyes. While Judy's eyes were of a beautiful amethyst color the eyes of her counterpart where weird to say the least.  
The sclera of he eye which was normally white not matter which kind of mammal you were, as far as Judy knew, was jet black.   
The iris then was surrounded by a thin golden ring while the iris itself was devided into two parts a blood red outer half and a poison green inner half both of which were seperated by a thin golden ring. Surrounded by these two halfs was an retilian looking almost savage looking slit like pupil which in turn was once more surrounded by a thin golden outline that seperated it from the green half of the iris.  
These eyes were mesmarizing to watch and Judy felt herself being entranced by them without even noticing, while they seemed to stare deep into her soul.  
She had no idea how long she just stood there but she snapped out of her trance when Nick stepped between her and her shadowy counterpart.  
She felt a little bit dizzy and she knew that something was wrong.  
Like always though things were moving faster than she would like them too and she heard an familiar yet unfamiliar voice,”Nicholas, my brother, it has been eons.” The voice was a lot like her own but it felt more surreal. It sounded slightly distorted like if two voices were mixed together. While it was not particularly loud it seemed to be everywhere at once and it felt really overpowering to her.   
Whatever this being was it was definetly very very dangerous. And once more she was glad that Nick was by her side to protect her from harm.   
Nick answered the voice and Judy wondered wether she could just stay behind his back the entire time,”Indeed it has been forever, I am so glad to be able to meet you once more brother.”  
Nick stopped and the voice continued,”I see that you travel with an adventurer. Is she the reason why you are here?”   
Judy heard movement and she moved to the side so that she could peek at the throne.   
The demon that had taken her form stood up and jumped down from the throne. It then proceeded to walk towards them with its paws behind its back.  
Nick nodded,”yes this is Judy. She is my master and I am her personal spirit and as such I want her to grow stronger so that she can fulfill her goal.”  
Judy gave a meek smile and waved,”hello”, was all she could think of right then.  
The demon stopped just about a meter in front of them and flat out ignored her, “And so you lead her here so that she could obtain my power?”  
Nick nodded once more,”yes that is correct.”  
The demon tilted its head slightly and raise a brow,”why would you think that I would help out a mortal? I mean you seem to feel comfortable to present her to me. So she needs to be somewhat strong or else you would not have risked bringing her here.”  
Nick shifted his stance and brought his paws behind his back as well and Judy wondered why they both had their paws behind their backs. But other than that she was terrified of what the demon had just implied. Nick had said that as long as she stuck with him that his brother would be reasonable. And that he could be argued with. But said brother had just stated that she had to be strong or Nick would not have risked presenting her to him.   
RISKED!  
That did not sound like the situation was going well at all.  
But when she looked at Nick he still seemed really calm and he continued the conversation,”Judy is not that strong. In fact she is rather weak and you should have noticed by now, so am I. That is why I need your help in order to make her strong enough.”  
The demon just stared at Nick for a moment before he said,”true, you are very weak. I guess they placed more seals on you than on any other demon since they could not seal you into an artifact.”  
A smirk found its way back onto Nick's muzzle,”yeah they went really overboard with that. But then again, they did worse with Arya.”  
Judy saw a shift in the demons facial features at that point, which was still weird considering that she was looking into her own face. And it seemed like the interest of the demon was peaked,”what did they do to her?”   
“They placed some seals on her that made it only possible for her to use power when permitted by a mortal and said mortal had to also be a descendant of that pesky white knight. Meanwhile, I can use my magic freely but I can only draw limited mana from the void. So yeah she is probably worse off than me.” Nick said while laughing.  
The demon suddenly started laughing hard as well and put its paws over its stomach while it did.  
Judy was flabbergasted. What was going on?  
They both laughed for a moment then the demon said,”well I guess someone knew exactly what they were doing when they sealed her. Did anyone ever manage to talk her into actually bowing to a mortal?”  
Nick sighed contently,”I have no clue. I have a hard time imagining that.”  
“Why not go and ask her for help? I mean she must have more power than both of us combined as long as she obeys a mortal.”  
Nick scoffed,”Arya? Helping out a mortal? I think it is more likely that you help us, besides Judy is not a descendant of the white knight. So even if Arya was willing to help then she could not do it.”  
“I still don't understand why you think that I would be willing to help you.”,the demon stated casually while crossing its arms in front of its chest.  
Nick's expression turned serious,”because I know you. You yearn for freedom don't you? Just come on this adventure with us. I can't be worse than rotting away in this room for all eternity in isolation.”  
Now it was the demons turn to scoff,”I get my fair share of visitors over the centuries Nick. You would not believe how many adventurers yearn for a demonic blade that would make them all powerful. Crushing them is all the joy that I need.”   
Nick seemed to be thrown off by this comment but Judy realized something and finally joined the conversation,”but there must be something that you wish for right?”  
The demon turned its head and focused directly onto her eyes but Judy stood her ground and did not move or flinch.  
Then the demon answered irritatingly enough with a question,”what does that matter here?”  
Judy felt more confident though since she was neither entranced nor ignored and she knew that she could do this,”well we are asking you to help us or more specifically me to help me fulfill my dream. So it would only be fair that I give you something in return right?”  
The demon seemed to be taken aback by this statement but it continued the conversation none the less,”true that is how an exchange between my kin and yours usually works. But what makes you think that you could help me whatsoever? I mean the only reason that you are here is because you are too weak on your own, right?”  
Judy nodded, got him, “yes exactly! But with you and Nick I can be strong. Maybe even strong enough to help you. So what is your price?”  
She saw a panicked look on Nicks face but she ignored him. The demon came closer and she could feel the demonic aura that radiated from her shadow counterpart, almost her entire fur stood up as it came closer and closer. It came so close in fact that she could feel its breath against her muzzle.  
“You ask what my prize is?”, the demon asked in a dangerously low tone while its weird eyes were far too close for comfort. She was almost paralyzed by fear but she managed to answer with a meek ,”yes” regardless.  
The demon smiled,”you know what? You are stronger than Nicholas is giving you credit for, dealing with me like this little rabbit. That is very brave of you.”  
Judy held her breath as the demon turned on its heel and walked back towards the throne where it stopped in front of the sword and gently placed one paw on its blade. She could then see her shadow counterpart gently stroke the blade of the sword with a dreamy look on its muzzle.  
“You know rabbit, I would do anything for a real body.”   
Judy looked at the demonic rabbit before her somewhat confused. She had seen it move around and even felt its breath on her fur. What else could it wish for?   
Wasn't this its real body?   
A shadowy mass that could take any form it so desired.   
“What do you mean by that?”,she flat out asked,“that body looks pretty real to me.”  
The demon smirked,”sure this is a body I made from pure magic energy.”  
Her jaw dropped, making a living body from magic was something that she had heard of in fairy tales. And she was pretty sure that only gods could perform miracles like that.   
But the demon was not finished yet,”it is really unpractical if you think about it. I takes an immeasurable amount of magic energy to do this and I can only do it when I am in this room since it is set up to give me the power necessary to defend myself. And even though it is a body it is not really something desirable since I cannot leave this room.”  
Judy was confused once more,”so that is not your body?”  
The demon smirked,”no this is!”   
And with that it kicked against the tip of the giant sword causing it to be lifted from the throne and fall forward towards the room. The demon sidestepped and reached for the falling sword that reduced its size dramatically and turned into a rabbit sized broadsword which shadow Judy then fished out of the air with trained ease while real Judy watched in awe. The demon then proceeded to whirl the sword around with a flick of the paw so that it was now holding the sword in front of its muzzle as if it was checking that the blade was perfectly straight. It was then that she remembered that this demon was the demonic sword itself! Of course it would not be this shadowy thing at all times. The demon lowered the tip of the sword towards the floor and started moving back towards Judy.   
Out of the corner of her eye she could see a very satisfied Nick and she knew that she was on the right path.   
The demon was now right in front of her once more,”You know, sometimes I wish that everything went back to the way it was before the cataclysm. And sometimes I just wish for revenge on the gods. But I really would do anything for a real body. And the lifetime of your kind is not that long anyways.” The demon threw the sword from its right paw over to its left and with another flick of its paw it pointed the tip of the sword towards the ground before moving it behind its back and extending its right paw towards her.   
“So let's take a vow and seal a pact.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note:  
> So I read a book on writing stories and I noticed that I do lots of things wrong and while I am trying to improve lots of stuff will still be bad for a long while I guess. Anyways I used the time I usually use for writing for reading and thus this chapter is this late.  
> I also choose the present to continue thanks for all the feedback it is always appreciated.  
> I will inform you that I shall use my OC's from other stories in here as well since it is easier than making 100% of the characters up so I will stick with making up around 70% new characters.  
> And now I can finally eat those blueberries that I bought as a reward for finishing this chapter.


	3. The Pact

“So let's take a vow and seal a pact.”,the words seemed to echo in her mind. And she remembered the time that she had made a pact with Nick. She had been much younger then but she remembered how Nick had told her that she always had to be really careful with the wording of a pact.

So she went ahead and asked right away. “What are your conditions for helping me?”

Her demonic counterpart lowered its paw and straightened up a little more.

“I want you to create me a new body.”

Judy was still a bit skeptical,”When you say create a new body. You mean literally creating a body? Not that you would take mine?”

The demon smirked,”smart, no I wouldn't take your body since Nick seems to be very protective of you.”

Judy was very surprised by that,”why would that stop you?”

The demon's smirk softened into a happy smile,”because he is my brother. And he would not forgive me if I did. Now you may only live a century at best little rabbit, but we live for eternity. The live of one mortal is not worth the strife that would last much longer than you could imagine.”

This surprised Judy and she turned to Nick,”would you really?”

Nick looked somewhat embarrassed but he nodded nevertheless.

The demon started laughing,”Yeah Nicholas has always been like that, getting attached to the weirdest things.”

This time Judy felt insulted and actually got angry,”hey! I am not a thing.”

The demons smirk grew even wider,”sure you are. If you want to be something else then prove that you are special. That is what you want to do anyways, right?”

This hit Judy off guard. The demon had a point she was a nobody, just some low ranking adventurer who had nothing more than her personal spirit, a dream and the clothes on her back. And yet the fact that the demon challenged her to prove herself felt weird to her. It had seemed so indifferent before now.

She was brought back from her thoughts when Nick started to speak,”but how would Judy accomplish such a feat?”

Shadow Judy swirled the sword from behind her back back to the front where she thrust it into the ground before her using it as a support to lean on.

“There are many ways for a mortal to be useful in that regard, you should know that Nick.”

Judy was surprised with how angry Nick seemed upon hearing that and even more surprised when he actually growled while answering,”you can't make her loose her soul for you.”

The exchange felt strange to Judy, why was Nick so defensive all of a sudden, but like always with these two she had no time to think as they went on.

Demonic Judy laughed once more and almost fell off the sword that she was leaning on,”of course not. That being said it should be relatively easy for her to use alchemy to create a body for me once she has become strong and skilled enough.”

Nick seemed to ponder for a moment before replying more calmly,”alchemy is a lost art. No mortal has performed it for centuries now.”

“True, as luck would have it though, our little rabbit friend here has two demons by her side that can help her by teaching her every step of the way.” The demon replied smugly.

Nick still seemed to be bothered by something but Judy could not tell what exactly since what she had heard up until now seemed rather positive. She was sure that with the help of both of them that she would be able to learn about alchemy and then she would be the only alchemist in the entire world. That sounded rather legendary to her, in fact it sounded like a useful skill to have so that the gods would notice her. As far as she knew alchemy was the mythical art of creating things through equal exchange. An art that had been lost centuries ago.

”There is a reason why alchemy is a lost art.”, Nick said and she could hear the concern in his voice.

“And what reason would that be?” Asked her demonic counterpart in mock confusion.

Nick seemed to be aggravated by this once more,”you know how dangerous creating life with alchemy is! Even more so when creating a magical being. Alchemy destroyed itself.”

The smug grin returned onto shadow Judy's muzzle,”So you are saying just because some mortals who took things too far destroyed themselves with alchemy, you suddenly have no faith in your master anymore?”

She could see that this one was a solid hit as Nick's ears lowered instinctively.

“I am just saying that there has to be a better way.”

Shadow Judy raised her paw and started moving the fingers of her paw up and down, while focusing on the movement of her paw as if bored,”what about advanced summoning magic then?”

She could literally see how Nick's brain stopped working for a moment while he looked like he had just been hit with a hammer. He recovered really fast though and answered even angrier than before,”that is even more dangerous! To summon a being strong enough to house your soul she would have to master cross dimensional summoning. And I can count on one paw the number of mortals who managed to do that!”

This surprised Judy even more. Summoning was basically a form of magic where the caster used his power to summon a creature, often a creature of the monster class, to aid them in battle.

It was a real popular type of magic among the stronger spellcasters because of its versatility.

And while she had heard that if you summoned a creature that was stronger than you without the right spells in place to pacify it, that it would fight and quite possibly kill you. But that was rare since most adventurers knew this and were prepared against it. That being said summoning magic was so popular because it was easy to learn and was also known to reap a high reward once it was mastered.

Judy wondered what the difference between cross dimensional summoning and normal summoning would be that made it so dangerous. But she realized that she probably did not want to know when Nick continued,”How dare you even suggest that? I thought I told you that her soul is off limits.”

The demon just looked at Nick in what seemed to be real confusion this time,”if done right she would not damage her soul at all.”

It was at this point that Judy decided to cut in, she was really amazed by how much knowledge both of them seemed to boast. But while Nick seemed to be more concerned about the future she was just focused on matter at paw. And the matter at paw was getting stronger and she knew that this demonic sword was exactly what she needed to achieve that.

“You want a new body?”, she just threw the question into the discussion while achieving the desired effect.

Her demonic counterpart turned it's head and focused on her,”Yes but as you can see we are not really sure which method would be the right one for you to use.”

Judy straightened herself a little and did her best to sound as professional as possible,”I know but we can worry about that once I am strong enough to actually do it. So let's not waste anymore time.”

Shadow Judy seemed really happy with this and turned back to Nick who seemed rather unhappy,”Nick I think I am starting to understand why you like her so much.”

Shadow Judy extended her paw once more,”I vow my loyalty to you in exchange for a body to call my own. Be wary though little rabbit. Should you not fulfill your end of the bargain then I will take your soul instead.”

Judy felt really nervous. What if she failed? What if she lost her soul to a demon? The prospect was rather scary to think about but she knew that she could not let this stop her now. So she extended her paw and grabbed the paw of her mirrored self. For a second nothing happened and she felt relieved but then she felt a surge of magic go through her arm and then into her entire body. She felt her fur stand on end while the magic formed inside of her. It was an almost indescribable feeling and once it was over she could feel that something had changed deep within her. She was not entirely sure what had changed but she knew that something had changed.

She instinctively let go of shadow Judy's paw and almost staggered a bit backwards. Thankfully this was prevented by Nick who was her side immediately and supported her so that she would not fall.

Shadow Judy just mustered her with those weird eyes of her while she regained her balance.

Once Judy had actually regained her balance and moved forward once more it was the demons turn to step back leaving the sword standing up from the ground between them.

“It is yours now, take it.”,said the voice that still send shivers down her spine.

The fact that the sword was now supposed to be hers filled her with pride though. And so she stepped up to the sword and firmly grabbed the grip. She could feel the raw power lingering deep within the blade while she easily  pulled it out of the stone below. The leather grip felt great against her paw as if it was meant to be right there. The first thing she did was examined the sword that was now so much more closer than ever before. Her gaze was immediately caught by the ancient runes on the blade which seemed to glow without really emitting light but magic instead. Their glow was weirdly calming to her and she could not help but run her paw down the fuller of the sword in order to feel the magic that was radiating from the runes beneath her fingers. She had no idea how long she was just standing there marveling the beauty of the blade in her paws, but she did not care. The balance of the weapon itself was impeccable. The metal of the carved guard, and leather-bound hilt, balanced the heavy blade efficiently. And she could not help herself but to take a few practice swings. The blade cut through the air in a weirdly satisfying manner as she took one swing after the other. She was so focused on the blade in fact that she did not notice how her next swing went not against the thin air but rather right at her mirrored shadow self. She was snapped out of her trance when said shadow counterpart caught the blade with its bare paw in mid air.

“If you want to practice your swordplay little rabbit you should do so against real enemies. Instead of slashing through the air like a maniac.”,came the amused comment from the demon itself.

First Judy was embarrassed that she had forgotten that there were others around her and that she had actually attacked someone while practicing. Then was surprised by the demons comment and for one moment she feared that she would be attacked by the shadowy creature. The same creature had just a moment before displayed how very much immune it was to the sword that she now called her own.

But instead shadow Judy gestured towards the entrance of the room where the door had already begun to swing open, revealing the guardian statues that she had been avoiding on the way here.

“Let's see how well you handle this.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note:
> 
> So this story is doing far better than my main story. I like to think this is because I have become a better writer but then again it could also be the genre.  
> Regardless here is to another chapter. This one is short once more and will be followed by a longer chapter where Judy finally gets to test out some powers and stuff. As always I delay the good stuff into the next chapter.  
> And then there should be a break where I figure out what to do with the plot in the near future since I actually need one now that I am finishing this story.  
> See you when I get the motivation to write the next chapter.


	4. Trial of the Sword

There was a lot of them, which was to be expected since she had passed even more of them on the way here. Judy took a good look at the enemies before her.

They were not getting closer, instead they were waiting at the entrance of the room, as if they were stopped by an invisible wall.

They almost looked like they belonged there as they were standing at the other end of the room in formation while not moving an inch.

Them not moving gave her the chance to form a battle plan.

She now had a demonic blade which made all other weapons that she had ever seen pale in comparison and she had Nick as her familiar. Together they would be fighting against what seemed to be about thirty to forty monsters with unknown magic properties. She was also sure that her demonic counterpart knew the exact abilities of these golems, but she also had the feeling that this was a test. And so she would rely on her own abilities.  
The easiest way to attack would be near one of the pillars at the side of the room so that they could only come from two sides at once and not from all four directions.

She would also try to use her speed to outmaneuver them since they had proven to be very slow and powerful.

So if Nick covered her back and she dodged their attacks then it would only be a matter of time until they would win.

“Alright Nick, cover my back we will funnel them between one of the pillars and the wall.”

Nick just looked at her with an expression that screamed sorry,”Carrots I would like to, really but this is obviously a test and you should take that on your own.”

This caused Judy to blackout a little bit. When her brain finally rewired she looked at Nick in confusion. Had he just told her that she needed to fight without him?

But how was she supposed to do that?

Without him she would have no magic at her disposal except for the little bit of mana that she had now, this meant that she would just have...the sword!

She wanted to beat herself so bad! Why hadn't she thought about this sooner?

The demon had basically told her that if she wanted to test the abilities of the sword, that this was the better option compared to just failing it around and yet it had taken her this long to realize this.

She gave a sigh and nodded,”alright then partner. Wish me luck.”

Upon hearing this Nick gave her a warm smile,”that's my bunny, go give them hell.”

Judy just rolled her eyes at him while taking off.

She stopped just a few meters short of the enemy, which was still a lot to her as a rabbit, and started casting her spells.

She cast haste to enhance her reflexes, she then cast quickstep to enhance her movement speed and finished by casting a simple strength spell.

She took a deep breath while looking at the guardian statues that had started to form a half circle around her. All of the enemies were bigger and slower than her which meant that her best chance of killing as many of them as possible was to dodge and strike so that she never stopped moving. This would enable her to fend of the sheer number of enemies without getting overwhelmed by them.

The monsters were still closing in on her while she was finishing her mental planning period and one of them had gotten into striking range. Which was just what she had expected and she took a defensive stance while waiting for the first strike.

The first strike was a jab that was aimed right for her chest but Judy was a rabbit. And she was naturally faster even without her magic enhancements. So she easily dodged the strike by dashing to the right and closed the distance between her and her first adversary. Once she was within striking range she used her momentum to jump and strike at the throat of her enemy.

The sword went through the magically enhanced stone like her normal sword would through a piece of cloth and separated the head from the body with one clear cut.

This surprised her, even though she should have expected it. However being surprised in a battle situation was never good. And she was reminded of this by some of her other enemies who used the chance to close in and to start striking her as well.

Thanks to her enhanced reflexes she managed to dodge the strike of the enemy that was right behind her and also strike the wrist of the statue that had tried to attack her from the side at the same time.

She then jumped backwards in an attempt to gain a little bit of breathing room, only to be attacked by the same statue that she had beheaded just moments ago.

Damn it, she was fighting a magic golem of course it would shrug off being beheaded and just carry on. It probably did not even need its head to begin with.

She managed to deflect the hit by angling her sword and pushing against the hit, while its own momentum carried it along the blade straight down into the ground.

This hurt a lot though as the power of the impact spread through her entire body.

Alright, Judy thought, mental note to self. They are as strong as they look. Let's not try that again.

She developed an idea though when she saw that the statue whose wrist she had cut was struggling to pick up the sword with its other stone paw after the wounded paw had broken off.

She only needed to cripple them so that they would not be able to fight back anymore.

So she put her idea right to the test and went for the counter while the headless statue was readying it's next strike. She went for a low strike against its knee and thus managed to cut its leg clean in half. She did not make the same mistake as before though and went right on the offensive again, this time striking at the arm of another statue with the intend to cut it off while also dodging the strike that hit the ground where she had stood just moments ago.

It was quite an effective tactic. She attacked the limbs of her larger opponents and moved on before their attacks could land. This strategy had a very distinct problem though. After fighting off about twenty statues like this, her body demanded a well deserved break. Moving at the speed that she had, with the amount of strength that her enhancement spell offered her was exhausting.

Which brought forth another problem. She had maneuvered herself deep into the enemy without noticing.

Basically, she was in real trouble.

She tried to fight her way back to the middle of the room where she knew that the golems could not follow her, but her movements were starting to slow significantly.

She just managed to cripple another statue by taking off it's leg when she was attacked from two sides at once, again. This time though she was sure that she would take a hit. She knew that she would not be able to dodge both attacks at once. So her plan was to dash under the first attack and then block the second with the sword as much as possible to minimize the damage.

The first part of the plan already failed when she did not manage to evade the swing fast enough. And while she had moved so that the sword was only slicing her back. It was still a magic sword and thus it easily ripped through her mail armor leaving a deep cut right between her shoulder blades that made her yelp in pain.

She felt the stinging burn that radiated from the wound into her entire back. And paired with the exhaustion it was almost enough to make her kneel.

Almost!

What surprised her was the fact that when she saw the second blade coming from above, she had a feeling like if her body was entering a trance all of a sudden.

All of her pain and exhaustion was forgotten and she felt magic energy flow into her body through the blade in her paws, as her body seemed to move on its own accord.

It only lasted for a few seconds, but that was enough for her to sidestep once more and cast a spell. One which she had never cast before with her left paw while also rotating the sword around her right paw so that it struck another enemy behind her that was just about to attack.

The spell that she was casting sent shivers down her spine as she literally felt the temperature around her drop. She instinctively touched the blade that she had just dodged while it was still lodged into the ground, with her left paw, causing it to freeze. The icy spell soon enveloped the entire statue, which lead to its demise as it shattered when it tried to move.

She started feel the pain and exhaustion flooding back into her mind as the high of her trance was wearing off.

She wondered what exactly had just happened and she wished that she could do exactly that once more. But she had no idea how she did it in the first place.

She managed to gain a little ground though after defeating the two statues and was able to use this to move farther towards the middle of the room. Her way was still blocked by a literal horde of enemies.

And then suddenly it happened.

The world around her seemed to come to a complete standstill and so was her body.

Her mind though was completely unaffected by whatever kind of spell this was.

And then she heard the voice.

“That was...how should I word it?” It was the same kind of voice that shadow Judy had been using. A distorted voice that seemed like it was not supposed to belong to a living being. This time though it was a little bit clearer and seemed far more distinctively male.

“That was an interesting approach, little rabbit.” The voice remarked mockingly.

Well, she thought, I did my best against these things and if Nick had been by my side I am sure that we would have won!

There was a noise in her mind that sounded almost like a snicker. But it was just as distorted as the voice.

This made Judy angry, how dare you laugh at me! I was trying my best here and I am not a powerful adventurer yet! How am I supposed to defeat creatures like this without any magic?

“Who said that you had to defeat them without magic?” Came the reply that sounded awfully like a loaded question.

Well, Nick was not allowed to help me because this is a test, right?

But without him I am not able to get any new mana, so I was not able to use magic.

“Then why were you able to cast that spell when you almost died?”

That was right, Judy though somewhat confused, how did she do that?

Wait, the magic power had come from the sword! And more importantly she had felt like she was in a trance for a moment there.

YOU! It was you who did that.

Another noise filled her mind that sounded like a chuckle,”true I did that, but you did that.”

Great, now he was talking in riddles. She hated it when Nick did that and now there was a second one to do exactly that. Except this time he was in her head, which was even worse.

Damn how annoying was this going to be?

The demonic voice gave a sigh,”fine, I will go easy on you this time. Have you really never tried drawing mana from your environment?”

No, she had not. In fact she did not know that it was possible at all!

Why had Nick never told her about this?

“It is an advanced technique to learn for mortals, so that may be the reason why he never taught you. He probably hoped that I would show you. Fine, this will be the first thing that I teach you. It may take a while, but you will learn over time.”

Wait, so I will learn over time? But then what about the situation that I am in right now?

I could use some magic to help me out of this!

Another sigh,”Sure just relax and let me show you. Try to focus on the flow of the magic energy.”

She relaxed herself and waited for whatever was to come.

What came was that the time resumed and that she felt the same kind of trance that she had before. It was like she was not really in charge of her body. Which made sense considering that a demon had taken over for her.

And once more that was not the most angelic thing ever, good job Judy.

After the first step she felt the movement of magic through the air around her. She had always been able to feel magic energy in the environment around her. But this time she was not only feeling it. She was redirecting it, siphoning it from her surroundings in little streams and strings before converging them into her paws.

The amount of magical energy in the room was astonishing and the resulting amount of mana that she managed to literally pull out of thin air was mesmerizing to her. She had never felt this powerful before.

She could feel how the magical energy spread through her entire body and she cast one spell after the other in such a quick succession that her mind had trouble keeping up.

She felt her back heal, her exhaustion fade away and her overall body strength increase dramatically.

And then something happened that she had not expected whatsoever. The blade changed it's form.

While it had been a longsword before, it now changed its form into a different kind of sword.

It was a curved blade with a single edge and it felt just as perfect in her paw as the first one had.

She had seen this kind of sword design before and it reminded her of that kind of sword that the mercenaries of the western continent called a Kriegsmesser.

It still retained it's runes which moved up to the top of the blade while the hilt only changed minimally.

The question was prominently in her mind though, why?

“I changed my appearance to suit your fighting style better. Trust me this will be a lot better for cutting than the other one.”

As if to demonstrate she felt herself dash forwards and slash at the legs of another statue, cutting through it with ease before striking right at the next one in one controlled motion.

And while she was doing that she also managed, or rather the demon managed, to cast a spell with her left paw which she then used to freeze another statue all while still sucking in more magical energy at the same time.

“See this is easy.”

She had a feel that it was definitely not easy. But he was right it felt so easy! Everything she did felt natural like she had always been able to do it.

After fighting for another minuted there were only five statues left and she truly felt the difference in experience between herself and her new demonic partner.

And said demon then, as if to acknowledge this realization and solidify it, focused the entire mana that she had gathered into her sword. It was a weird feeling, she felt every fiber of the sword as if it was an extension of her body. And not just like a real sword felt like an extension of her body, but rather as if it was a real living part of her body. She focused the magic into the back of the blade before swinging it through the air in front of the remaining enemies while pressuring the magical energy out through edge of the blade. This caused a powerful blast which cut through the air and then shattered that last remaining statues.

All enemies were defeated and she started regaining control of her body once more.

Once she had full control Judy immediately felt far less powerful than she had before.

This must have been what Nick had been talking about.

Demonic weapons were indeed really powerful tools.

Powerful enough to loose yourself to them if you were not careful while using them.

But Judy would be an angel and therefore there was not chance that she would loose herself, right?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note:
> 
> So I had a lot to do this week and I updated my main story twice before starting to write this chapter.  
> And here is the first fight scene that I wrote. I still have to get a lot better but it could be worse, at least I hope.  
> As always give me your thoughts.


	5. The good old Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I am using [ ] to mark Dialogue which happens in Judy's head. (The words coming from demonic sword)

[You what?!] Came an overpowering yell from the very inside of her brain, which made her feel every bit as uncomfortable as the owner of the voice probably intended.  
Judy shook her head though and carried on thinking, yes I what?  
What is that question even supposed to mean, asked Judy inside herself.  
It was still a very strange feeling to her as the reply actually came.  
[You want to be an angel?] Asked the demonic voice inside her head, this time at a more tolerable intensity.  
Yes of course, that is why I need your help in order to become strong. Thought Judy just as much instinctively as wholeheartedly.  
[And you seek the services of not one, but two demons for that?] The demon actually sounded desperate as he asked this and he added,"Are you mad?"  
Now in his shadow Judy form and definitely directed at Nick instead of her.  
Nick smirked and replied,"as a hatter. But may I inquire why the question came up?"  
"You know damn well why I am asking!" Said her demonic doppelgänger as it grabbed Nick by his cloak and pulled him down towards eye level.  
"You are trying to make this god damn mortal into an angelic being! And now you pulled me into this damn mess!"  
Nick's smirk only grew,"you should have asked what her goal was before striking a deal brother. That is how this whole thing works you know."  
Shadow Judy made a growl like sound and let go of Nick, only to angrily strike, her now free paw, into one of the of the pillars next to them.  
This caused the whole thing to crumble into bits and pieces which rained down upon them as the pillar itself collapsed.  
Nick was quick to block the debris with a low level magic shield and Judy knew that her doppelgänger couldn't probably have cared less.  
"An Angel!" Cried the demon out in exasperation.  
And it turned around towards her,"do you know how ludicrous that sounds? No I correct, how ludicrous that is?"  
Judy could not help but smirk, she realized the irony of the situation. But the reaction of the demon who had been so calm and collected before just seemed too funny to her. And she had to fight herself in order for her not to laugh out loud.  
But since the demon could read her mind that did not matter at all, even if she had no clue about that. Since she was still not really used to the mental connection she now shared with her newest companion.  
It was Nick who took it upon himself to end this farce though, as funny as it was to both of them, it was certainly a dangerous situation. Considering that they were making fun of a powerful demon right on his home turf.  
"Aww...come on now brother. See it as a challenge. And besides, this only means that we get close enough to our enemies to maybe actually get some useful information about your seal."  
A sigh came from shadow Judy and her ears dropped behind her head.  
"Fine, I will bite...but this means that I cannot teach her demonic magic, or take over her body too often. Which in turn limits our options significantly."  
Another sigh followed as her demonic self mustered her as if it was appraising an exotic piece of food.  
"This is going to be a challenge indeed. But with both of our skillsets we can probably make it work."

Nick's smirk turned into a warm smile and he patted the demonic bunny on the back.  
"That's the spirit."

With this the conversation ended and they left the room.  
Her doppelgänger stayed inside and she could feel that her sword started absorbing an insane amount of residue magic energy from the air around them.  
Once the door closed Nick turned around and placed a spell she had never seen before.  
When Judy tried to ask he curtly replied with,"just a precaution."

She tried to press him for more information but the sword interfered.  
[You shouldn't worry. I sincerely doubt anything bad will ever come of this little spell.]

This in turn made her wonder even more what kind of spell it could have been.  
But they soon emerged from the confines of the secret dungeon into a far larger cave.  
This cave, also known as the Niarc Dungeon, was a place where magical creatures like ginormous cave spiders and ghouls as well as undead adventurers who were unfortunate enough to meet their end here, roamed around freely.

Thus it was a place which would be sought out by many adventurers, to train, for subjugations or to get lucky and scavenge the equipment of a less fortunate competitor.

And even though the strength of the local monsters was infamous around these parts, it still ended up being a deathtrap for many aspiring new adventurers.

Judy still fondly remembered her first days as a fledgling adventurer.  
Back when she had been just a normal rabbit and even the great forest which bordered her home plains seemed unknown and scary to her.

 

 

**Around 2 years earlier:**

 

She felt uncertain about this whole sneaking away from home thing. She had never been admitted to school like everyone else who had a spirit since she had gotten hers late and in secret.  
She had also never told her parents about Nick, at all.  
This was due to the fact that her parents had voiced their concerns about adventurers pretty clearly.  
No Hopps was to ever stray out of their noble tradition of carrot farming for the local Lord.  
And so none of her siblings had been allowed to go, even those who actually made contracts with spirits the normal way.  
Even her brothers who, by law, were allowed to leave the family once they became of age were "persuaded" into staying.

So over the last few years she had made all the preparations needed for leaving in secret.

She had secretly forked of some produce and sold it herself.

She had taken every coin she could in exchange for work on the farm itself and on the neighboring farms.

And she had even sold a kiss to a young noble rabbit by the name of Jack Savage. The poor sap seemed to have been eager to jump at the opportunity to kiss her in exchange for a real gold coin. In hindsight she knew that he had been hopelessly, head over heels in love with her. But she had never really liked the idea of settling so soon.

Besides, her dream of becoming an angel was now in full motion. She flinched, yeah, in hindsight she had been stealing from her own parents. And selling a kiss was not very angel like either.  
However, it had all been for the greater good!

Once she was an adventurer she would save the lives of many! And without these negligible evil deeds she wouldn't have been able to even become one at all.

She had to do these things in order to rise above her circumstances and become the great hero, which Judy knew she could one day be.  
With the money she had been able buy a cheap short sword, a coat, a bag, some crude pieces of armor and general supplies for a long journey. All things that she had determined to be the absolute bare bone minimum requirements for her plan, after she had listened to Nick about his experiences with adventurers before her.

In addition to this she had also learned some valuable survival skills, like making fire in the wild and which plants to eat and which to avoid from local retired adventurers.

One of them, an old boar who everyone just called Sven, had even insisted to show her how to craft her own bow and arrows.  
A skill which she had not nearly perfected yet.

So here she was, hiding her equipment in Nick's cave while the demonic fox examined her newly crafted bow.

"Hey Carrots, was this your first try?" He asked as he pulled back the string of the bow which, in his paws, looked almost comedically small.

It was in fact her twelfth attempt at making a short bow, but Judy had no intention of letting the smug demon know this.

"Yes, why? Is there something wrong with it?" She asked innocently.

Nick shook his head as he placed the bow back to where he had found it.

"Not really, no. In fact it is pretty decent for a first attempt." His words made her feel proud, even though she did technically not deserve it. The feeling did not last long however as he added,"let's just hope that you improve a lot over the next few attempts, so that you actually get a usable result."

She was just about to retort to his rather insulting way of calling her a failure by getting her hopes up, when Nick changed the topic.  
"So now that you got all of this, does that mean that we are leaving soon?" Judy was baffled by the question itself.

Yes! Screamed a voice deep inside of her. Let's pack up right away and leave right now.  
But you cannot do that! Commented another part of her conscience. You haven't even though of where to go yet!  
Which was a valid point in and out of itself.  
You have been trying to leave for weeks now and always found a new way to postpone it!Commented the first voice.

But are you really ready yet? Asked yet another part of her. Maybe you should stay here for a few more weeks or months or even years. Spend some more time with your family before you inevitably see them for the last time.

Yeah, that seemed right too. She wanted to go, she really did. And her parents and her elder siblings were hellbent on not letting any family members go, she hated them for readily displaying such close mindedness. Even if it sprung from love. And yet she still loved her family dearly, all of them. Leaving them without saying goodbye felt wrong.

And yet she knew that it would be the only way forward for her.

The only way to achieve her dreams.

Yes, her journey could wait a little bit longer.

She faced Nick and focused on his glowing emerald eyes as she spoke.  
"Not quite yet, there are still some skills that I need to learn and..."

"Judy." She flinched when she heard him utter her name.  
She gulped heavily and broke eyes contact. "Yeah?"

He came closer and cupped her cheeks with both paws, forcing her to look into his eyes once more.

"I am not stupid. I know that you are distressed and I know that you are having trouble with taking the necessary leap."

Judy was surprised by the warmth of his words, normally he tried to stay neutral or his words were dripping with as much sarcasm as possible. Sometimes he was even outright insulting. But this time, this time even his eyes seemed to radiate a kind of warmth which she would have deemed impossible from a demon, at least until she had met Nick.

"You want to become an Adventurer, right? To achieve your dream and become recognized by the gods as a hero of justice."

A timid "yes" was her only reply.

"But you are still afraid of leaving everything behind. And that is completely alright. That just means that you are a good mammal Judy."

He smiled at her warmly before he went on. "And I am not saying that this is ever going to be easy for you. Especially because you are a good mammal, but do not think that one action only ever has one possible result. As an adventurer you have to be flexible and you have to take these leaps of faith whenever they present themselves to you. That is the only way to become stronger. And you want to become stronger, right?"

"Of course I want to be stronger and naturally I want to be an adventurer." She all but whispered. She was sure of what she wanted. But there was also that little bit of uncertainty on her mind which weighed her down. Her own conscience was reminding her that she was betraying everyone that had ever loved her by doing this.

"Then you shouldn't think of the price." Stated Nick firmly.

What?

But of course she would think of the price of her desires, how else was she going to achieve her dreams of becoming an angel?

Nick as if sensing her thoughts went on to explain.

"Judy, want is something that just bubbles out of you and gushes forth. Want is something that can never really be satisfied. It is something that can be a great weapon as well as a fatal weakness."

He pulled her even closer and started whispering into her ear.

"But I can tell you from experience, that not acting on your desires and penning them up can corrupt you just as much as living your life in total debauchery."

She had no idea at the time how much his words would impact her even in the future. But right now she knew that his words had been exactly what she needed.

When he let her go shortly after she wordlessly grabbed her equipment and for the first time put on her new adventurer gear.

Judy felt ready venture onward into this big and exiting world.

She left the cave without uttering a word to her companion. She feared that she would loose her new found resolve if she did. That any word, carelessly thrown into the room, could stop her in her tracks by making her reconsider.

But in the end it did not matter, Nick understood his partner even without words. And for the last time they left the cave where they had met each other, together.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note:
> 
> So I have two options as how to continue this story in the next few chapters:
> 
> A. I cut right back into the action after we get through the forest thing and we get less backstory in the past.  
> B. I do another flashback during the whole thing and we see how our favorite duo met


End file.
